Kataja Down Karsiyaka To Advance

Joensuun Kataja snuck into the quarter-finals of the EuroChallenge with an 87-79 victory over Pinar Karsiyaka.

Kataja, perhaps getting group leaders Karsiyaka at the right time with the visitors' qualification already assured, needed victory combined with a Gaz Metan Medias victory over BK Ventspils and all the chips fell their way.

They did the hard work themselves, though, slowly building a lead that reached as many as 19 early in the second half.

They made their first break midway through the opening quarter with a 9-0 run that turned a deficit into a 19-11 lead, and Johnell Smith's lay-up saw them end the opening 10 minutes with a 27-19 advantage.

It moved into double figures early in the second quarter and big threes from Jermaine Flowers and Petri Virtanen pushed them to a 37-23 advantage.

Virtanen hit more big shots late in the first half to make it 52-34 and it was the Finn again from deep to make it 61-42 midway through the third period.

Karsiyaka took offence to that and quickly reeled off nine straight, Robert Dixon's three making it 61-51, but they could not get the deficit into single figures as Kataja eased away once more.

When Vesa Makalainen made it 85-69 with 4:35 it should have been all over, but Karsiyaka provided a late scare with a 10-1 run to close to 86-79 with 61 seconds left.

They might have got closer but for a Dixon turnover which afforded Antti Kanervo the opportunity to pad the lead from the line before Evren Buker missed a late three.